Doctors at Hung Vuong Hospital congratulated the extremely premature baby girl on the day she was discharged from the hospital - Photo: Provided by the hospital
On November 28, according to information from Hung Vuong Hospital (HCMC), baby girl NLH, born at the 23rd week of pregnancy with a weight of only 640g, equivalent to a large carton of fresh milk, was discharged after 97 days of treatment.
This is the youngest extremely premature baby ever to be kept alive at the hospital and has now been discharged.
A full-term pregnancy usually lasts 37-40 weeks. According to doctors, babies born at 23 weeks are classified as “marginal” – the most fragile boundary of life.
At this stage, the child's lungs are almost incomplete, lack of Surfactant makes the alveoli easy to collapse; the brain is very vulnerable, high risk of intraventricular hemorrhage; thin skin, lack of fat layer makes the child lose heat and get infected quickly; the immune system is almost not working.
Baby H. is the mother's first child, born naturally at 11:20 p.m. on August 21. Immediately after birth, the baby was cyanotic, had weak muscle tone, and had poor reflexes - signs of severe respiratory failure. The team of neonatal pediatricians performed emergency resuscitation, kept the baby warm, intubated, and provided ventilator support before transferring the baby to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
In the NICU, the baby underwent more than three months of intensive treatment and interventions. Upon admission, the baby was given surfactant to support the lungs, helping to improve oxygen saturation. The baby was placed on invasive ventilation for 55 days, followed by non-invasive ventilation for another 18 days. During this period, doctors had to adjust the ventilator parameters very delicately to minimize the risk of lung damage.
In addition to respiratory problems, the baby also faced many complications common in extremely premature babies such as sepsis, anemia, and unstable blood pressure. The baby was treated with strong antibiotics, blood transfusions, and vasopressors to support the heart. Every day was a life-or-death challenge, requiring close monitoring by medical staff.
On October 17, when the baby reached 1,180g and his vital signs were more stable, he was transferred to the neonatal unit for further care and recovery. Here, the baby still had spasms of breathing and mild cyanosis, but had made positive progress. Doctors continued to treat him with antibiotics, monitor his apnea episodes, and perform respiratory physiotherapy to improve his lung function.
The nutritional process is also implemented step by step, initially with breast milk through a tube, then switching to spoon feeding and then practicing breastfeeding. The baby being able to breastfeed on his own is an important milestone, showing that the nervous system has clearly matured. At the same time, the baby is given “skin-to-skin” (Kangaroo) care, helping to stabilize body temperature, heart rate, breathing rate and increase mother-child bonding - an important factor in the recovery of premature babies.
On November 26, after 97 days of treatment, the baby weighed 1,745g, meeting all discharge criteria. The baby was placed in the arms of his family, ending a journey of nearly 100 days of courageous fighting.
The case of baby NLH is not only a joy for the family but also a testament to the new progress of Vietnamese medicine in raising the survival limit of newborns. From a life of only 640g, the baby has overcome countless dangers to return home healthy, opening up hope for many families with extremely premature babies in the future.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ky-tich-tai-benh-vien-hung-vuong-cuu-song-be-gai-sinh-non-23-tuan-nang-640-gram-20251128121959454.htm
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